Shaksuka (Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce)

As I'm approaching the one year mark for posting anything on this blog, I've been feeling pressure to come up with a post. The problem is that I've been repeatedly cooking recipes from the blog, but I haven't been coming up with anything new. Then I had a craving for a stewy, spicy, yummy tomato and egg dish I had once at Eltana. But when I went there to have it, I was too early. Even though it has eggs in it, it's really a lunch or dinner dish. So, darnit, I had to come home and make my own version. Suddenly, a blog post was ready. The Eltana version has more vegetables than mine and it comes with a bagel to dunk in it. I think there are a ton of variation possibilities - add zucchini, eggplant, more spicy peppers, olives, artichoke hearts. It's so quick and easy.
P.S. Part of starting to post again is promising myself I won't skip a recipe just because I didn't get a great picture!

Shaksuka (Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce)
serves 2


1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno
2 Anaheim peppers (or bell peppers if you can't find these)
1 1/2 T cumin
1 T smoked paprika (or substitute hot paprika)
pinch of cinnamon
1 bay leaf
1 14.5oz can of whole tomatoes
1 cup water
4 eggs
feta cheese for sprinkling
bread for dunking

• Get the jalapenos and peppers ready by cutting off the ends and scraping out the seeds. Chop the  jalapenos tiny and the Anaheims just a little smaller than bite-sized.
• Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a wide, deepish pan. Saute the onion for a few minutes and then add the garlic. Let them cook until they're just turning brown.
• Add the jalapenos and peppers and cook for a few minutes to soften them.
• Add the cumin paprika and toast for a minute or two. If they start to stick too much, just skip to the next step.
• Dump the liquid from around the tomatoes into the pan to stop the spices from sticking. Then squish up the tomatoes with your hands and add them in. You could probably really easily substitute canned tomatoes, but I haven't tried that yet.
• Add the cinnamon, bay leaf, and water and simmer for about 15 minutes to get the flavors all together. If you need to splash in a little more water, that's no problem, just do it a bit at a time so it doesn't get too thin.
• Crack each egg into the pan so they aren't touching. Put a lid on and let them cook for about a minute to set. Then I learned a great trick from my new favorite cookbook - use a soup spoon and baste the whites of the eggs with the sauce. This makes them taste better and set better.
• The dish is done whenever the eggs are done to your liking. I don't like a really runny yolk so we let ours cook for about 10 minutes.
• Serve sprinkled with feta cheese and with toasty bread for dunking in the sauce. It would probably be great over pasta too.

Roasted Squash and Leek Gratin

I don't usually choose the vegetarian option for my main dish, but when my mother-in-law served this at a family dinner a while ago I fell in love. Yes, I like just about anything with leeks, but I generally don't like butternut squash (it all goes back to this butternut mole soup I had to make every Friday for months...). This dish is really about the combination of flavors - the sweet-but-not-too-sweet roasty squash, the savory perfectness of the cooked leeks, the tang of the goat cheese, and then the toasted nuts and barley to round it out.
When I make this I think of Rachel Ray because you get the first three steps going all at once (and that's what she's all about - how many pots can you get going at once). So you rush around for 20 to 30 minutes getting everything set up, but then you pop it in the oven for the last 30 minutes and you're relaxed by the time it's ready.

Roasted Squash and Leek Gratin
serves 4 for dinner, 6 to 8 as a side

1 cup pearl barley (measured before cooking)
2 to 3 cups stock
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut bite-sized
2 large leeks
2 T butter
5 oz. goat cheese
1 cup cream
3/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

• Get the barley going (it cooks pretty much like rice): Rinse the barley, bring the stock to a boil, add the barley to the stock, cover, reduce the heat so it simmers for about 30 minutes. You can also leave the barley out if you want.
• Get the squash in the oven: Toss the peeled cubes with salt and pepper and olive oil, spread them out over two cookie sheets, roast in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. They should be mostly cooked and just starting to brown on the edges.
• Get the leeks on: Remove the tough green parts and the roots, slice longways and then into thin half-moons, rinse well, saute in the butter until super soft - about 15 to 20 minutes.
• Spread the barley in the bottom of a buttered 9x13 pan.
• Toss the leeks and squash together gently (the squash might want to fall apart here) and layer over the barley.
• Dot the top of the casserole with pieces of the goat cheese, then drizzle the cream over everything and sprinkle the hazelnuts on top.
• Bake for 30 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Let it cool for a few minutes before serving.

Warm Spinach and Brussel Sprout Salad

This didn't start out as a blog post dinner, it started off as a way to use up a huge stalk of brussel sprouts I impulse-bought when I was at a pumpkin farm. My favorite way to eat brussel sprouts is shredded up in this salad, but here's the part I hadn't thought of: I have an on-again-off-again relationship with vegetables anyway, I certainly wasn't going to be in the mood for a cold salad when it's been so dreary here lately. So the brussel sprouts were just sitting there taking up half my fridge. Then I thought to adjust that great salad recipe into something better suited for a seriously rainy day and now I'm hooked on warm salad. If you want to leave out the bacon and/or bacon fat, just substitute warmed olive oil. If you make extra dressing it will keep for at least a week, just reheat in the microwave before using.


Warm Spinach and Brussel Sprout Salad
serves 2 as a dinner

Dressing:
2 - 3 cloves garlic
4 slices of bacon
1 t mustard
3 T red wine vinegar
olive oil (maybe)
S & P to taste

Salad:
1/2 a bunch of spinach (about  6 cups), roughly chopped
12 - 15 brussel sprouts

• Shred the brussel sprouts just like they are mini heads of cabbage (cut off the ends, cut them in half from top to bottom, then cut in super thin strips).
• Cut the bacon into bite-sized pieces and cook in a pan until crispy. 
• Remove the bacon, but leave the fat in the pan. You need 3 tablespoons of fat and it depends on the bacon you use if you'll have that. If it seems like you don't have enough, add some olive oil. If it seems like you have too much, take some out of the pan (but save it in case you want to adjust the flavor later).
• Add the other dressing ingredients (not too much salt because most bacon is salty) to the pan on very low. Whisk well for a minute or two to heat the dressing and combine all the flavors.
• Toss the spinach, brussels, bacon, and dressing together and you're done (unless you want to add toasted walnuts, which I'm going to try next time).

Middle Eastern Meatball Soup

This soup inspired me to add (finally!) something new to the Basics page because it was yet another easy and delicious dinner and it also uses every one of my "Soup Tricks." It's a little on the complicated side because you have to make the meatballs and do some pureeing, so I'll call it a weekend or entertaining soup - great for a day when you have a little more time, but of course you still don't want to slave at the stove. I love the combination of lamb and mint and lemon and tomatoes. Right after I took this photo, I dropped in a dollop of plain yogurt and, oh my goodness, that tangy, creamy addition pushed it up to the level of New Favorite. Serve with warm pita or flatbread, a little hummus as an appetizer maybe, and you have a whole evening set.

Middle Eastern Meatball Soup
Serves 4 to 6

For the meatballs:
1 pound ground lamb (it's a little pricey, but the rest of the soup is pretty inexpensive)
1/4 cup fine bread crumbs or Panko
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t cumin
pinch of red pepper flakes
1 T parsley, minced
1 t fresh mint, minced
1/2 t oregano (I used dried, but fresh would have been great)
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper

• Put all meatball ingredients together in a bowl and mix gently. Try not to mix anymore than is needed.
• Roll the mixture into small, bite-sized balls and set aside.

 For the soup:
4 T butter
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 T paprika, hot and smoked if you can find it
2 T cumin
pinch of red pepper flakes
pinch of cinnamon
1 28oz can whole tomatoes
2 15oz cans of garbanzo beans/chick peas
4 to 5 cups stock
juice of 1 lemon
1 t fresh mint, minced
1/2 cup parsley, chopped
3 cups spinach, chopped

• Saute the onion in the butter in the bottom of a soup pot. When it starts to brown, add the garlic and saute until it just starts to brown.
• Add the paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes and saute for about a minute to get them a little toasty.
• Have the tomatoes open in case the spices start to stick too much - you can quickly dump them in and prevent anything from burning.
• Simmer for about 20 minutes to cook off the extra liquid in the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, breaking up the whole tomatoes.
• Puree this in a blender or food processor or with a hand blender. You can make it as smooth or chunky as you want. I like it pretty smooth.
• Put the puree back in the soup pot and bring it back to a simmer. Drop in the meatballs (do your best to not have them piled on top of each other) and simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Add the stock and garbanzo beans and simmer for about 30 minutes to finish cooking the meatballs and get all the flavors happy together.
• About 5 minutes before serving, add the lemon, mint, parsley, and spinach. Once the spinach is wilted, you're ready to go.

Portuguese Kale and Linguica Soup

Here's another favorite soup from my cooking-at-the-Still-Life days. With the sausage, potatoes, kale, and tomatoes it works great as a dinner. I'm not good at serving sides with soup (unless a grilled cheese sandwich or buttered toast count, but I think they don't) so I love it when my green veggies for the meal are already in there. Linguica is a spicy, smoky Portuguese sausage that gives this soup so much flavor. If you can't find linguica, substitute kielbasa or even spicy Italian sausage. As I'm writing this the wind is knocking over garbage cans and the rain is sneaking its way down my chimney into my basement - a perfect night for something warming and stress-free.

Portuguese Kale and Linguica Soup
serves 6 to 8, we freeze the leftovers

1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T tomato paste
1 cup red wine
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 pound Linguica (or other sausage*), cut into thin coins
1 bunch kale (after washing and chopping it's about 4 cups)
6 medium red potatoes, cut bite-sized
8 to 10 cups stock
1 t paprika (hot and smoked if you can find it)
1 T thyme
1 T mustard powder (substitute dijon mustard if you have to)
2 bay leaves
pinch of red pepper flakes
pinch of cinnamon

• This starts the way almost everything I make starts - saute the onion in a couple tablespoons of olive oil until it just starts to brown, then add the garlic and saute until it just starts to brown.
• Add the paprika and tomato paste and cook them until they're stuck to the bottom of the pan and just starting to brown. Then dump in the wine so nothing burns.
• Reduce the wine for about 5 minutes, just to cook off the alcohol. Then add everything except the kale (hold back a little on the stock so you can decide how thick you want it). 
• Simmer for at least 45 minutes. You can eat it as soon as the potatoes are done, but I like to give the sausage more time to flavor everything. 
• About 10 minutes before serving, add the kale.

*Linguica and kielbasa are already cooked. If you're substituting a fresh sausage like hot Italian, cook it before cutting into coins.

Barley, Wild Rice, and Currant Pilaf

Lately I've been working on a new sort-of-blog called Remember These Recipes. It's a place to post images of old family recipe cards that I've found. Because it's not just the dishes themselves that I love, it's the handwriting of my relatives (many who aren't here anymore), the drips on the sides, the little notes people scribbled on the back. Looking through these images I have, of course, been craving some family dinners. This pilaf recipe is one that my grandma made at many many Christmas dinners. I don't have an old card with her handwriting for this. Instead I had to interpret my own bad handwriting and terrible shortcutted directions that I jotted down at her kitchen counter. We ate it with garlic pork chops to try to get close to the garlic pork loin she usually served with it (there's a recipe I'd love to have). I took a bite and immediately remembered sitting on her long couch in the condo with a plate balanced on my lap, a puzzle in progress on the coffee table, Grandpa watching the game from the LayZboy, and family all around. Also, it's delicious.

Barley, Wild Rice, and Currant Pilaf
serves 2 as a generous side

2 T butter
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/ 2 cup wild rice
1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup diced celery and carrots
1/3 cup currants (or raisins in a pinch)
1 bay leaf
1 t dried sage, or 2 fresh leaves, minced
1 t thyme
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
salt and pepper to taste

• In a small saucepan, saute the onion in the butter until it is starting to turn translucent. Add the garlic and saute about 2 minutes more. If you ever feel like the butter is starting to get too brown, dash in a little olive oil.
• Add the wild rice and saute until the onions and garlic are light brown - about five minutes more.
• Add the barley, currants, herbs, pepper to taste, and stock. 
• Bring it to a low simmer with the lid. Stir occasionally to check if it's sticking. If it seems to be drying out too quickly, add about 1/2 cup more water.
• Check the tenderness of the barley and rice, and the liquid level after 45 minutes. If there is too much liquid near the end, simmer for the last 10 minutes more with the lid off, stirring a little more frequently.

The Dinner Sandwich with Kale, Gouda, and Roasted Sweet Potato

Whenever John is away on a night that I work late I end up eating a white sandwich (toasted sourdough bread, mayonnaise, sharp cheddar cheese, that's it) for dinner. Not only do I love a cheese sandwich, but I also don't really cook for myself. Cook is something I do for other people. But he's going to be away more on these late evenings, so I came up with the Dinner Sandwich. It's a variation on something I made when I cooked for The Essential Baking Company. If you don't have a panini press (because, really, why do I have a panini press), just make this in a frying pan with butter on the outside of the bread - like an old-fashioned grilled cheese.

The Dinner Sandwich
serves 4, but I used the leftovers for other meals

1 red garnet yam (which is really a sweet potato)
1 bunch of kale (or spinach or chard)
1 head of garlic
4 slices Gouda
2 slices of good, hearty bread
olive oil, salt, and pepper
sliced turkey - very optional

• Peel the sweet potato and slice into thin coins. This will make more than you need, but it's great as a snack, on another sandwich tomorrow, or cut up and sprinkled on a salad.
• Toss the sweet potato slices in olive oil and salt and pepper and lay them out on a cookie sheet. Bake for about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.
• Cut the top off of the garlic head and set on top of a square of foil. Drizzle with olive oil and close up the foil so the garlic is sealed in a little bag. Put this in the oven under the sweet potatoes and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. The cloves will be browned and soft. You can just squeeze them out of the papery skin and use as a spread.
• Drizzle a tablespoon or two of olive oil into a frying pan on medium high heat. Rinse the kale and shake off the water (but don't worry about getting it dry). Tear pieces of the leaves off the woody stem and drop them right into the pan.
• Stir the torn kale getting it all coated in the oil for about 5 minutes. Put the lid on and let it wilt for about five minutes more (you can skip this if you're using spinach or chard). You're going for cooked, but not mush.
• You can either refrigerate everything now and use it cold later, or go right on to assembling the sandwich.
• The main trick to great paninis (or grilled cheese) is to be sure that the cheese is the thing touching both sides of the bread. So for this sandwich I built it in this order: bread, cheese, roasted garlic squished around, sweet potato slices, kale, turkey, a little more garlic, cheese, bread again. 
• Get it all toasty and melty and you're done. You don't even need a side dish!

Gnocchi in Browned Butter Sage Sauce

I have a sage plant that just won't quit. I bought it looking like nothing more than a sprig stuck in some dirt at least 5 years ago. I've transplanted it and mostly ignored it except to chop it down to the ground once a year, but it still comes back. It begs me to make this dish all summer as it's looking lush and full, but this is a comfort food that has to wait for fall. I've tried drying the leaves for use all year-round, but they're too tender (or I'm doing it wrong). I use dried sage from the grocery store when I need this dinner when the plant is dormant and it's still very good, but not quite as great. I first had it when the Still Life in Fremont was in it's transformation stage (not the old, funky Still Life anymore, but not The 35th Street Bistro yet either). They served it with roasted chicken. We usually just pound and pan sear chicken breasts and then slide them into the simmering sauce when the gnocchi goes in the water.

Gnocchi in Browned Butter Sage Sauce
Serves 2

4 T butter
4 cloves garlic, sliced
pinch of red pepper flakes
3 to 6 fresh sage leaves (depending on how sage-y you like it)
1 cup white wine
16 ounce package of gnocchi

• Put your pot of water on to boil. This comes together quickly.
• Have your garlic sliced and ready. In a frying pan big enough to hold the gnocchi and sauce at the end, melt the butter over medium low heat. Let it foam and bubble away until it is light brown - usually about 5 minutes. If you're worried it's gotten too dark (and might burn in the next step), dash in a little olive oil. This will stop the butter from browning further.
• Add the garlic, thinly shredded sage leaves, and red pepper flakes. Saute until the garlic is light brown and the butter is slightly darker.
• Add the wine and let simmer until reduced by not quite half, about 5 minutes more. Sometimes I don't feel like buying a bottle of white wine just for this dish, so I substitute diluted chicken stock and the juice of a lemon to equal 1 cup.
• If your gnocchi isn't done cooking, turn off the heat and wait for it.
• Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan and stir it for about a minute. The gnocchi itself will thicken the sauce.

Mom's Almond & Fruit Crumble

Is it a crisp or a crumble? I can't decide. I do know that the first Fourth of July that Mom made this it was a crazy hit - plums, blackberries, and the marzipan flavor from the almond paste along with the melting creaminess of the ice cream. We all asked for it again and again after that. She got the idea from Bon Appetit magazine and when I went looking for the recipe I was surprised to discover that it was actually supposed to be a tart, but Mom just stole the idea for the topping. If you like almonds and crisps/crumbles/whatevers, you'll love this. I make it in the winter with plums I've frozen from the fall. Now is the perfect time to discover you love it too and put away some stone fruits and berries for when a taste of summer will save you from the winter doldrums.

Mom's Almond & Fruit Crumble
serves 12

Topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cold almond paste (about 5 oz.)
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 T cold butter
1/4 cup almonds

2 1/4 pounds fruit,* cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup sugar
3 T cornstarch

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• Combine the topping ingredients, except the almonds, in a food processor and pulse until combined. Or cut everything together using a pastry blender. Then mix in the almonds.
• Toss the fruit with the sugar and cornstarch and spread into a 9x13 pan. Sprinkle the topping over the fruit
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. The fruit should be bubbling (this activates the corn starch) and the topping golden brown.
• Let sit for 15 minutes before serving so that it can cool and set a little. Don't worry, it will still be warm. You'll be tempted to serve it right away, but it will burn your mouth, trust me.
• Serve with ice cream.

*I think it's best with stone fruit and berries, especially Italian plums with blackberries or nectarines with blueberries, but many different combinations would work.